157 Definition Of Leadership Quotes

Following is our list of definition of leadership quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about qualities of a leader.

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Famous Definition Of Leadership Quotes

My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. — Bernard Law Montgomery

Leadership is the sum of those qualities of intellect, human understanding, and moral character that enables a person to inspire and control a group of people successfully. — John A. Lejeune

Leadership is an elusive concept, hard to describe and impossible to prescribe. It is more evident in its absence, so that when leadership is needed, its lack is sorely felt. — Patrick Dodson

Leadership is defined by results not attributes. — Peter Drucker

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes. — Peter Drucker

Leadership is providing inspiration and vision, then developing and empowering others to achieve this vision. — Marshall Goldsmith

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. - Warren G. Bennis

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. — Warren G. Bennis

Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of acting and, most importantly, a way of communicating. — Simon Sinek

Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader. — Indra Nooyi

Leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate towards some goal which they come to find desirable and which motivates them over the long haul. — Orway Tead

Leadership: The skill of influencing people to work enthusiastically toward goals identified as being for the common good. — James Hunter

Leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate towards some goal which they come to find desirable and which motivates them over the long haul. — Ordway Tead

Leadership does not mean domination. - Haile Selassie

Leadership does not mean domination. — Haile Selassie

Leadership is lifting a person's vision to high sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. — Peter Drucker

Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average. - Jim Rohn

Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average. — Jim Rohn

Short Definition Of Leadership Quotes

  • Great leadership is by definition relentlessly developmental. — Bill Hybels
  • Leadership is demonstrated at the moment of need. You learn to be a leader by acting, by doing — Carlos Ghosn
  • Leadership is not for the faint of heart — Bill Hybels
  • The very exercise of leadership fosters capacity for it. — Cyril Falls
  • Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes. — Margaret J. Wheatley
  • Leadership is unlocking people's potential to become better. — Bill Bradley
  • Leadership is the self-confidence of working with people smarter than you. — Azim Premji
  • Leadership is hard. It's a skill. It's a technique. — Jocko Willink

Definition Of Leadership Image Quotes

Definition of leadership quote A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compas
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others.

Leadership Defined Quotes

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. — Max De Pree

My height doesn't define my skill set. To be a great quarterback, you have to have great leadership, great attention to detail and a relentless competitive nature - and I try to bring that on a daily basis. — Russell Wilson

Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical, and performance-ori ented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed.... Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection. — Sheryl Sandberg

Definition of leadership quote Be a leader by example. Be confident and humble. Love the unloved.
Be a leader by example. Be confident and humble. Love the unloved.

Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths. — John Peter Zenger

Leadership can be defined in one word - honesty. You must be honest with the players and honest with yourself. — Earl Weaver

Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future. — Edwin H Friedman

Definition of leadership quote Leadership is an action, not a position.
Leadership is an action, not a position.

Don't just let your career happen to you. You need to be strategic about how you define your leadership journey and where that takes you. — Denise Morrison

The function of a leader within any institution: to provide that regulation through his or her non-anxious, self-defined presence. — Edwin H Friedman

Action will delineate and define you. — Thomas Jefferson

I am defining leadership in terms of the role, not the position. — Edgar Schein

Qualities Of A Leader Quotes

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. — Jim Rohn

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world. — John Updike

One of the key qualities a leader must possess is the ability to detach from the chaos, mayhem, and emotions in a situation and make good, clear decisions based on what is actually happening. — Jocko Willink

Definition of leadership quote Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.
Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.

There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader. — Rudy Giuliani

The leader is one who can organize the experience of the group ... and thus get the full power of the group. The leader makes the team. This is pre-eminently the leadership quality - the ability to organize all the forces there are in an enterprise and make them serve a common purpose. — Mary Parker Follett

The quality of a leader cannot be judged by the answers he gives, but by the questions he asks. — Simon Sinek

Definition of leadership quote Accept no one's definition of your life, define yourself.
Accept no one's definition of your life, define yourself.

Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader. — Tacitus

A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten. — John F. Kennedy

Preparedness and punctuality are two of the most important qualities of a leader. — John Andreas Widtsoe

One of the qualities that all the leaders have is a voracious appetite to learn whatever they do not as yet know and understand, coupled with an openness to new experiences. — Warren G. Bennis

Effective Leadership Quotes

Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience. — Colin Powell

The greatness of a leader is measured by the achievements of the led. This is the ultimate test of his effectiveness. — Omar N. Bradley

Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome. — John P. Kotter

Definition of leadership quote Leadership simply begins with the courage to be yourself. So everyone else can be, too.
Leadership simply begins with the courage to be yourself. So everyone else can be, too.

To manage a system effectively, you might focus on the interactions of the parts rather than their behavior taken separately. — Russell L. Ackoff

A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. - Witter Bynner

A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. — Witter Bynner

The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I'. They don't think 'I'. They think 'we'; they think 'team'. — Tom Peters

He who has learned how to obey will know how to command. — Solon

In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. — Harry S. Truman

I can't give you the sunset, but I can give you the night. — Erin McCarthy

History has shown that a country most effectively speaks with one voice. When nationally elected officials work together, build consensus, and provide leadership, the American people will follow. — Chuck Hagel

Responsibility Of Leadership Quotes

It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority. — Benjamin Franklin

Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

One of the recurring themes in Marcus' handbook is leadership's responsibility to work intelligently with what it is given and not waste time fantasizing about a world of flawless people and perfect choices. — Marcus Aurelius

The most valuable "currency" of any organization is the initiative and creativity of its members. Every leader has the solemn moral responsibility to develop these to the maximum in all his people. This is the leader's highest priority. — W. Edwards Deming

It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies. - Noam Chomsky

It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies. — Noam Chomsky

I feel comfortable in a position of leadership, but that's not to say I feel complacent about it. I take it incredibly seriously. — Nicola Sturgeon

It is the responsibility of leadership and management to give opportunities and put demands on people which enable them to grow as human beings in their work environment. — John Harvey-Jones

Leadership happens at every level of the organization and no one can shirk from this responsibility. — Jerry Junkins

I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to the point of responsibility. I don`t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people. — John Wayne

The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men. — Sun Tzu

Leadership In Education Quotes

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. — Michelangelo

Vocational education programs have made a real difference in the lives of countless young people nationwide; they build self-confidence and leadership skills by allowing students to utilize their unique gifts and talents. — Conrad Burns

Those who take the lead take it by doing three things. First, science to be able to manoeuvre; second, knowledge to be able to heavily invest in education; and third, a very wise leadership with a clear vision and a roadmap to the right direction. — Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

The real role of leadership in education ... is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is climate control, creating a climate of possibility. — Ken Robinson

The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

There goes my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader. — Mahatma Gandhi

Every advance in this half-century-Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, aid to education, one after another-came with the support and leadership of American Labor. — Jimmy Carter

Leaders, whether in the family, in business, in government, or in education, must not allow themselves to mistake intentions for accomplishments . — Jim Rohn

Shared leadership... is less like a an orchestra, where the conductor is always in charge, and more like a jazz band, where leadership is passed around ... depending on what the music demands at the moment and who feels most moved by the spirit to express the music. — Phillip C. Schlechty

Speak out, educate, do not be intimidated by the apologists, and do not let extreme racism be mainstreamed. Hopefully there will come a time when we don't need to tell our kids that Halloween is no excuse for hate, and that blackface has no place in a civilized society. — Christine Pelosi

Good Leadership Quotes

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. - Stevie Wonder

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. — Stevie Wonder

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander. — Aristotle

A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops. — John J. Pershing

You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Good generals select intelligent officers, thoughtful advisors, and brave subordinates. They oversee their troops like a fierce tiger with wings. — Zhuge Liang

He who neither drinks, nor smokes, nor dances, he who preaches & even occasionally practice piety, temperance and celibacy, is generally a saint, or a mahatma or more likely a humbug but he certainly won't make a leader or for that matter a good soldier — Sam Manekshaw

My philosophy of leadership is to surround myself with good people who have ability, judgment and knowledge, but above all, a passion for service. — Sonny Perdue

Good leaders must first become good servants. - Robert K. Greenleaf

Good leaders must first become good servants. — Robert K. Greenleaf

The secret to success is good leadership, and good leadership is all about making the lives of your team members or workers better. — Tony Dungy

The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them. — John C. Maxwell

Being A Good Leader Quotes

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed. — Nelson Mandela

A leader leads by example not by force. - Sun Tzu

A leader leads by example not by force. — Sun Tzu

Be strong, but not rude; Be kind, but not weak; Be bold, but not bully; Be humble, but not timid; Be prooud, but not arrogant. — Zig Ziglar

I am glad that the Crown have proved that I am the leader of the Half-breeds in the North-West. I will perhaps be one day acknowledged as more than a leader of the Half-breeds, and if I am I will have an opportunity of being acknowledged as a leader of good in this great country. — Louis Riel

Remember the difference between a boss and a leader. A boss says, Go! A leader says, Let's go! — George E. M. Kelly

A good manager is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him. — Lao Tzu

As a leader of people, you have to be a great listener, a great motivator, be very good at praising and bringing out the best in people. — Richard Branson

I pray to be a good servant to God, a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a brother, an uncle, a good neighbor, a good leader to those who look up to me, a good follower to those who are serving God and doing the right thing. — Mark Wahlberg

Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader. — George S. Patton

Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach. — Rosabeth Moss Kanter

True Leadership Quotes

The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. — Ronald Reagan

The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence. — Walt Disney

Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders. — Diane Nash

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. — Douglas MacArthur

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born. — Warren G. Bennis

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born. — Warren G. Bennis

Leadership is standing with your people. People say you have to live to fight another day, but sometimes you have to show you are a true leader. — Leymah Gbowee

True leadership is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. — J. Oswald Sanders

You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington. — Grace Hopper

The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. — Colin Powell

Being A Leader Quotes

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. — Rosalynn Carter

You see things and you say, 'Why?'. But I dream things and I say, 'Why not?'. — George Bernard Shaw

He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail has to be found again by others; and he who walks far ahead of his contemporaries is a leader, even though centuries pass before he is recognized as such. — Ibn Khaldun

If I have any merit, it is getting along with individuals, according to their ways and characteristics. At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful, but necessary. To be a leader you have got to lead human beings with affection. — J. R. D. Tata

Be with a leader when he is right, stay with him when he is still right, but, leave him when he is wrong. — Abraham Lincoln

If you're going to be thinking anyway, think big! — Donald Trump

Producing major change in an organization is not just about signing up one charismatic leader. You need a group - a team - to be able to drive the change. One person, even a terrific charismatic leader, is never strong enough to make all this happen. — John P. Kotter

A leader. . .is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind. — Nelson Mandela

A leader has to be one of two things: he either has to be a brilliant visionary himself, a truly creative strategist, in which case he can do what he likes and get away with it; or else he has to be a true empowerer who can bring out the best in others. — Henry Mintzberg

All of us, who are members of the Germanic peoples, can be happy and thankful that once in thousands of years fate has given us, from among the Germanic peoples, such a genius, a leader, our Fuehrer Adolf Hitler, and you should be happy to be allowed to work with us. — Heinrich Himmler

Leadership Qualities Quotes

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

Just as discipline and freedom are opposing forces that must be balanced, leadership requires finding the equilibrium in the dichotomy of many seemingly contradictory qualities between one extreme and another. — Jocko Willink

Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word. — Brian Tracy

Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It's a state of mind-you could call it character in action. — Vince Lombardi

The neglect this implied, the suffering and wasted quality of human life were appalling. — Fred Hollows

I want to see a player on the football field. I want to see what kind of teammate they are, what kind of leadership qualities they have. I want to see how aggressive they are, how much fun they have playing the game. — Roy Clark

The most important ingredient for the success of any company is the quality of its people, starting with its leadership team. — Vivek Ramaswamy

Humility is a great quality of leadership which derives respect and not just fear or hatred. — Yousef Munayyer

I want to see a player on the football field. I want to see what kind of teammate they are, what kind of leadership qualities they have. I want to see how aggressive they are, how much fun they have playing the game. — Roy Clarke

The quality of your business is directly proportional to the quality of the people you hire which is directly proportional to your character and your ability to cast a clear vision and how they fit in it. — Alex Hormozi

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More Definition Of Leadership Quotes

Every American should read this post mortem on Afghanistan. And every American politician —Republican and Democrat — and every Pentagon panjandrum who supported this catastrophe should hang their heads in shame. We learned nothing from Vietnam. The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake again and again, and expecting different results. By this definition, the entire retinue of American leadership is insane. This observation answers the question What on earth are we doing in Ukraine? The inmates are running the asylum. — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned. — Harold Geneen

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. — Lao Tzu

To me, a leader is a visionary that energizes others. This definition of leadership has two key dimensions: a) creating the vision of the future, and b) inspiring others to make the vision a reality. — Vince Lombardi

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success — Stephen Covey

The leader works in the open and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives. — Theodore Roosevelt

Continuing to believe the same thing, even in the face of new evidence to the contrary, is the definition of insanity - except in politics where it's called leadership. — Scott Adams

I definitely wasn’t cool in high school. I really wasn’t. I did belong to many of the clubs and was in leadership on yearbook and did the musical theater route, so I had friends in all areas, but I certainly did not know what to wear, did not know how to do my hair, all those things. — Dianna Agron

Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence." (Harvard Business School definition of leadership) — Sheryl Sandberg

God's definition of success is really one of the significant differences our lives can make in the lives of others. — Tony Dungy

The building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. — Peter Drucker

What really matters for success, character, happiness and life long achievements is a definite set of emotional skills - your EQ - not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests. — Daniel Goleman

I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it; it's more like jazz. There is more improvisation. — Warren G. Bennis

The definition of strong leadership is not about making decisions that are popular. Making popular decisions is easy - you don't need to be a leader to do that. The definition of strong leadership is to make decisions that are unpopular, but are nevertheless sound. — Henry Blodget

The definition of leadership is that you have to find great people and ask them to do extraordinary things. I've been doing that my whole life. — Kevin O'Leary

A balance is necessary in life. To achieve this we must move away from broad definitions of workplaces as functional and households as emotional. Similarly, home, the haven in a heartless world, as defined by men, cannot be used by them as an antidote to the workplace's discomforts and demands, if this means having the wife as a servicer. — Eva Cox

Influence is the key word in any definition of leadership. — Aubrey Malphurs

A person's own definition of leadership defines the glittering crown of his leadership. — Anuj

My mother had a definite influence on my leadership style. She was very involved in the community. She would say that whenever you run into challenges or you're trying to make things happen, you've got to understand what makes people tick, what motivates them. Even though she was a business major in college, I think psychology was more of a passion for her. — Shellye Archambeau

Al-Qaeda has one ideology and they go back to the same leadership in Afghanistan or in Syria or in Iraq. That's the question. You have tens of thousands of foreigners, that's definitely correct. We are fighting them on the ground and we know this. — Bashar al-Assad

Many people believe that decentralization means loss of control. That's simply not true. You can improve control if you look at control as the control of events and not people. Then, the more people you have controlling events - the more people you have that care about controlling the events, the more people you have proactively working to create favorable events - the more control you have within the organization, by definition. — Wilbur L. Creech

I thought Donald Trump approach on Brexit was a fascinating window into how he thinks. His basic point was that [David] Cameron should resign because he didn't read the public mood on the issue right. And that Boris Johnson should be the next prime minister because he did. That's a very different definition of leadership than many politicians have. Or at least say they have. — Christopher Michael Cillizza

If you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in in order to prop up your only ally is leadership, then we've got a different definition of leadership. — Barack Obama

Do not confuse objectives with methods. When the nation becomes substantially united in favor of planning the broad objectives of civilization, then true leadership must unite thought behind definite methods. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Let us not confuse objectives with methods. Too many so-called leaders of the nation fail to see the forest because of the trees. Too many of them fail to recognize the vital necessity of planning for definite objectives. True leadership calls for the setting forth of the objectives and the rallying of public opinion in support of these objectives. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Over time, I have come to this simple definition of leadership: Leadership is getting results in a way that inspires trust. — Stephen Covey

Excellent value relative to the week investment of time....To my mind, this is the definitive course on leadership. — William Wrigley, Jr.

It has always been my thought that the most important single ingredient to success in athletics or life is discipline. I have many times felt that this word is the most ill-defined in all of our language. My definition isas follows: 1. Do what has to be done; 2. When it has to be done; 3. As well as it can be done; and 4. Do it it that way all the time. — Bobby Knight

Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing. — Tom Peters

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